How the Valentine Lamp was created
A discarded Cockey gas lamp column, a Sugg lantern head, a George V postbox and one inventor who joined them together in the name of love.
The full illustrated story of the Valentine Lamp can be found in The Frome Valentine Gas Lamp book by Beverly Shackleton-Jones.
Salvaged from Catherine Hill
The column is a traditional Cockey gas lamp, made in Frome. It stood in an alcove by 30 Catherine Hill — headless, with a rubbish bin attached. In 1991 Catherine Hill was recobbled and the old lamp post became redundant. Reg Ling arrived as it was being lifted onto a Somerset Works lorry, took it to the Catherine Hill Community Association, and was given leave to restore it.
Restoration and Renovation
In the workshop Reg discovered it had once been a gas lamp and decided to restore it to full working order. He persuaded British Gas to connect it to the gas main. He ordered a six-pane Westminster lantern from Sugg Lighting and mounted it on the old column. Then Royal Mail in Bath offered a restored George V post box. That is when the salvage project became the Valentine Lamp, hand painted with symbolic colours and flowers decorating the column, with the project taking him 18 months to complete.
The Valentine lamp came together by accident and coincidence. It almost took over me rather than me taking on the lamp.
First lit on Valentine’s Day 1993
Somerset County Council and Frome Town Council helped form Valentine Square around the lamp. It was unveiled on 6 February 1993 with an unveiling ceremony and on the 14 February the first public lamplighting ceremony was held, where Reg manually lit the lamp for the first time, and the site was dedicated to Saint Valentine. It has been manually lit in a public ceremony every Valentine's Day since.
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A Lasting Legacy
In 2025, Reg, at 94, handed the lamplighting duties to Eddie Young and the future maintainence, care and organisation of the lamplighting ceremonies over to The Friends of the Frome Valentine Lamp who will continue to preserve this unique landmark for generations to come. Reg will continue as lifetime president of the lamp. It is currently the only working gas street lamp in Somerset and the only Valentine gas lamp in the world.
The Valentine Lamp today is something that signifies light, which of course is life and love, which is caring. For me, it’s a beacon of hope.